Le Quang Liem defeated the Chinese "Chess King" at the 2024 Olympiad

After winning 5 consecutive previous games, the Vietnamese men's chess team continued to surprise when they tied with China in game 6 which took place early this morning (September 17).

Notably, world-ranked 14th-ranked chess player Le Quang Liem caused a shock when he defeated the reigning Chinese world champion Ding Liren to help Vietnamese chess rise to second place at the Olympiad.

Le Quang Liem defeated Ding Liren after 5 hours of intense mental battle (Photo: FIDE).

This is the first time in history that a Vietnamese player has beaten the reigning world champion in standard chess. In a must-win game to help his team avoid defeat in the match against China, Quang Liem (elo 2,741) defeated the player known as the "Chinese Chess King" Ding Liren (elo 2,736) after 62 moves.

In the remaining three games that ended earlier, the game between Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (elo 2,633) and Wei Yi (elo 2,762) ended in a quick draw after 15 moves. Tran Tuan Minh (elo 2,434) lost to Wang Yue (elo 2,637) and Le Tuan Minh (elo 2,564) drew with Yu Yangyi (elo 2,703).

Therefore, Quang Liem's ​​victory not only helped Vietnamese chess maintain its unbeaten streak but also helped him increase his ranking on the world rankings. While Ding Liren plummeted to 22nd place in the world, Le Quang Liem achieved the highest elo in his career of 2,749 and rose to 12th place in the world.

After 6 matches at the 2024 Olympiad, the Indian team took the top spot with 6 wins. The Vietnamese team, along with China and Iran, had 5 wins and 1 draw, but with better sub-coefficients, Le Quang Liem and his teammates ranked second, while China ranked third and Iran ranked fourth.

The Vietnamese men's chess team continues to fly high at the Olympiad (Photo: FIDE).

At the same time as the Vietnamese men's chess team, the women's team lost 1.5-2.5 to the sixth seed Azerbaijan. Bach Ngoc Thuy Duong (elo 2,214) drew with Khanim Balajayeva (elo 2,384), Vo Thi Kim Phung (elo 2,320) and Luong Phuong Hanh (elo 2,225) lost to Ulviyya Fataliyeva (elo 2,378) and Govhar Beydullayeva (elo 2,395). In the final game, Pham Le Thao Nguyen (elo 2,380) won against Gunay Mammadzada (elo 2,433).

Today, September 17, the tournament will have its only day off, before entering the final 5 matches. Game 7 begins at 8:00 p.m. on September 18 (Vietnam time) when the men's team meets the 10th seed Iran, while the women's team plays the Czech Republic.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/le-quang-liem-danh-bai-vua-co-trung-quoc-o-olympiad-2024-20240917071337316.htm